Despite the development of many different compounds which are useful in the treatment of infection, cancer, and other disorders, there remains a need for the development of new compounds which may be effective at lower dosages, more selective and effective, having fewer side effects or capable of treating diseases or disorders where resistance to the known compounds has developed.
Chemotherapeutic agents are used for the treatment of infections, cancer, abnormal proliferation disorders (endometriosis, restenosis, psoriasis), and other disorders. Most chemotherapeutic agents have side effects due to lack of specificity. For example, cancer is one of the leading causes of death. One of the primary modes of treating cancer, chemotherapy, is used specifically to limit cell growth and replication. Most chemotherapy agents also affect neoplastic and rapid proliferating cells of normal tissues (e.g., bone marrow, hair follicles, etc.), which results in several negative side effects including hair loss, nausea, vomiting, and suppression of bone marrow function. Moreover, effectiveness of these agents frequently diminishes over time due to the development of resistance.
Resistance to chemotherapeutic agents is even more salient in the treatment of bacterial diseases and fungal diseases. For example, Helicobacter pylori causes gastric disorders in large population in the U.S. Lack of effective treatment of such disorders may lead to the development of peptic ulcers, gastritis, dyspepsia and gastric cancer. Another common bacterial disease is periodontal disease, of which the major cause is bacterial plaque, which may lead to the development of periodontitis and eventually to tooth-loss.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new class of compounds effective as anti-infective, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory agents.
It is another object of this invention to provide an effective antineoplastic agent with specific cytotoxicity in order to minimize side effects.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide antiinfective agents which are specific and different from many other drugs currently in use, to provide an alternative method of treatment for drug resistant organisms.